The Beacon's doing its first ever climbing exhibition, Pillar 200, and it opens Saturday 31 October Pillar 200 climbing exhibition opens at the Beacon Museum in Whitehaven on Saturday 31 October
Marra Mode is how your mate would tell you down the pub over a pint. Switch it off for the straight version.
Two hundred years of climbing, starting with a shepherd going up Pillar Rock in 1826, is on at the Beacon from 31 October to 12 February. It's the first time the museum's done climbing.
This one's for climbers, fell walkers and anybody after something to do in Whitehaven this winter.
The Beacon is putting on Pillar 200: 200 Years of Climbing in England and Wales, from Saturday 31 October right through to 12 February. It's the first time the museum has ever done an exhibition about climbing, and it's been put together by the Mountain Heritage Trust.
It all starts on our doorstep. Back on 9 July 1826 a shepherd called John Atkinson went up the Old West Route on Pillar Rock, up above Ennerdale, and that's reckoned to be the first climb anybody recorded just for the sake of doing it.
The rest of the show takes you through 200 years of it, with photos, stories and bits of kit from the Mountain Heritage Trust, the Fell and Rock Climbing Club, Stephen Reid who set up Needle Sport, DMM, and the Abraham Brothers, the old Keswick photographers. If you're into gear, you can see how they went from shoving pebbles and machine nuts in cracks to proper nuts and wires, with early camming devices next to old ropes, boots and climbing shoes.
Councillor Anne Quilter from Cumberland Council said: "Cumbria has a proud connection with climbing and the outdoors, and this exhibition is a fantastic opportunity to explore that heritage and how climbing has developed over the past 200 years."
Curator Ian Smith said the Pillar Rock story "will be the launch pad to feature other routes and climbers through the subsequent decades."
What you can do: get yourself down to the Beacon on West Strand from 31 October, and check thebeacon-whitehaven.co.uk for times and prices first.
A new exhibition marking 200 years of rock climbing in England and Wales opens at the Beacon Museum on 31 October and runs until 12 February 2027. It is the museum's first exhibition about climbing and mountaineering.
This is for climbers, walkers and anyone looking for something to do in Whitehaven over the winter.
Pillar 200: 200 Years of Climbing in England and Wales opens at the Beacon Museum on Saturday 31 October and runs until 12 February 2027. It is the museum's first exhibition dedicated to climbing and mountaineering, and has been put together by the Mountain Heritage Trust.
The story starts close to home. The exhibition traces climbing back to shepherd John Atkinson's ascent of the Old West Route on Pillar Rock, above Ennerdale, on 9 July 1826. That climb is regarded as the first recorded ascent done simply for the challenge of it.
From there it follows two centuries of climbing through stories, photographs and objects lent by the Mountain Heritage Trust, the Fell and Rock Climbing Club, guidebook writer and Needle Sport founder Stephen Reid, the gear maker DMM and the Abraham Brothers, the Keswick photographers. Kit fans can follow how protection developed, from pebbles and machine nuts jammed in cracks to early nuts and wires, with prototype camming devices shown alongside carabiners, ropes, boots and climbing shoes from different eras.
Councillor Anne Quilter, Cumberland Council's executive member for vibrant and healthy places, said: "Cumbria has a proud connection with climbing and the outdoors, and this exhibition is a fantastic opportunity to explore that heritage and how climbing has developed over the past 200 years."
Curator Ian Smith said the Pillar Rock story "will be the launch pad to feature other routes and climbers through the subsequent decades."
What you can do: visit the Beacon on West Strand from 31 October, and check thebeacon-whitehaven.co.uk for opening times and prices before you go.